The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales wrote in an e-mail to members of parliament that it has no plans to refuse Communion to parliamentarians who voted in favor of same-sex marriage, according to a March report in the Tablet (UK). The announcement came despite the public urgings of Philip Egan, bishop of Portsmouth, who said, “When people are not in communion with the Catholic church … in terms of the teachings of the church on marriage and family life—they are voting in favour of same-sex marriage—then they shouldn’t be receiving Holy Communion,” the Scottish Catholic Observer reported. Egan told the Tablet that such a Communion ban is an “act of mercy.”

Of the 82 MPs who are known to be Catholic, 47 voted for the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill when it was passed in the House of Commons last year, according to the Tablet.